Why Build a Brand?

Why should you go to the trouble to start blogging, speaking, answering questions or anything else. What’s the point?

I’ve written a little before about this. When you build a brand, it helps you to stand out from others. You become more noticeable, and more likely to get the interview. You allow a potential employer to do some due diligence before they call you for an interview, which gives them more confidence you are the right person for the job.

And that if they call you, knowing your brand, the job is more likely what you want to do. Your brand lets people know what your skills are, what talents you have, and what you might want to do in life.

Working on your own brand also forces you to think about what you want from your career, or in your career, and it helps you to become better. Working on a better brand means getting better at your career in some way. Whether you blog, speak, or do anything else, you have to learn the topic well enough to teach it.

You are building an online brand with everything you do online, and many people in technology are regularly building that brand, so take advantage of it, put a little more effort in and get into the top ten percent of people in your field.

Remember that a brand can have a downside, so use your own version of “The Test” before doing anything online.

And don’t forget that just because you have a great job your branding doesn’t matter. It can still be useful, even if you don’t want a new job.